quotation

American  

[kwoh-tey-shuhn] / kwoʊˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

• quotations
  plural

1. something that is quoted; a passage quoted from a book, speech, etc..

   a speech full of quotations from Lincoln's letters.

   Synonyms:

   selection, citation, extract

2. the act or practice of quoting.

3. Commerce.

   1. the statement of the current or market price of a commodity or security.

   2. the price so stated.

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quotation British  

/ kwəʊˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. a phrase or passage from a book, poem, play, etc, remembered and spoken, esp to illustrate succinctly or support a point or an argument

2. the act or habit of quoting from books, plays, poems, etc

3. commerce a statement of the current market price of a security or commodity

4. an estimate of costs submitted by a contractor to a prospective client; tender

5. stock exchange registration granted to a company or governmental body, enabling the shares and other securities of the company or body to be officially listed and traded

6. printing a large block of type metal that is less than type-high and is used to fill up spaces in type pages

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prequotation
  noun
• self-quotation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• quotations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of quotation

1525–35; 1810–15 quotation for def. 3; < Medieval Latin quotātiōn- (stem of quotātiō ), equivalent to quotāt ( us ) (past participle of quotāre; see quote) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

A quotation is the exact words of someone else. When you like what someone said, put their quotation in your writing. Quotations are a big part of writing. People use quotations when something is well-said. A quotation from someone famous or smart can help make your own point sound better. When you use a quotation, always remember to put it in quotation marks and give proper credit. Also, don't change any of the words: a quotation should be exactly what the person said or wrote.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quotation quotations

The evocative title is a quotation from the 13th century Persian poet Rumi.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Younger parents who grew up in the digital age have done their research — “research” in quotation marks — for months.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

“They had a fine office and the largest and completest quotation board I have ever seen anywhere,” Edwin Lefèvre writes of one bucket shop in his 1923 classic, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator External link.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

At least one copy included peculiar quotation marks in the opening paragraphs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

If the entire quotation is in parentheses, then the closing parenthesis should go outside the quotation marks.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Executives then lobbied Urner Barry throughout the 2024 holiday season, the Justice Department said, asking the market research firm for ever-higher price quotations and to pay less attention to other companies’ bids.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

A pair of Orange County immigration attorneys received temporary suspensions after the court discovered they used generative AI to write briefs that included “multiple nonexistent cases, misattributed quotations, and gross misrepresentations.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

The latest incident was reported by the Supreme Court of Alabama last Friday, where an attorney submitted two briefs with eight AI-fabricated cases and quotations.

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

Glover has said he will take with him a Bible, his wedding rings and family heirlooms, along with a collection of inspirational quotations compiled by Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026

The article continued inside, with photos, charts, and quotations spread across all of pages 10 and 11.

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor

Related Words

• excerpt
• passage
• quote
• reference